ZapTown

[All photos provided by Jeff Foti]

The traditionalist viewpoint of society trains us that if you follow a particular path, you will succeed in life. Most people grow up, they go to school and graduate, and then lay out a career path that leads to wealth and happiness. It’s what we have come to expect from others. It’s a formula that has worked for most of us. It’s how we achieve the American Dream.

Foti has achieved the American Dream, only he followed a different path that set him outside the norm. Nonetheless, this is his story, his version of achieving that dream.

Being a tattoo artist is a path that Foti risked to take. It’s a career that fell into place, and once the wheels were turning, he only pushed forward.

“If tattooing was not in my life, I would not feel normal,” he said. “Growing up on the music that I did and the scene I was in, in some weird way tattooing has always been a part of my life.”

A proud fixture of Metamorphosis in Broad Ripple, Foti has been inking people on the strip for 12 years; as many years as the place has been opened. The shop took over Missing Link’s space, and on March 28, 1998, they opened their doors.

But the first time he became interested in tattooing, he knew nothing of the art.

“In early high school, instead of doing the work I was supposed to be doing, I sat around drawing skulls and playing music. I didn’t know drawing skulls would lead to this. Like the music I played, I did not learn by a textbook or was properly trained. Same went for me learning how to tattoo.”

And then something happened. Something that completely changed his perspective on life. During his junior year in high school, he was in a bad car accident that put him in the hospital, sustaining mostly cosmetic injuries and experienced the loss of his girlfriend at the time. She died at the scene of the accident.

“I saw how quickly a person’s life could vanish. It made me think of my own life and the feeling that I was wasting away in school.”

After recovering, Foti quit school and with a $50,000 settlement, he took off to Hollywood as a means of cleansing himself from the trauma of what he experienced and to live in the moment. Even though Foti admits that it is not a good idea to freely give a 17 year old 50 grand, he also admits that his experience was better than any high school education could give him.

When he returned from Hollywood with his bank account drained he sought a job at Karma up near the College Park area. He spent six-to-seven years hanging out, listening to all the latest music, and getting to know the people who regularly frequented the place.
After tiring out from that, he ended up at a computer place running a scanner and what he calls “other nerdy things.”

“This was many years before Office Space came out, but it was really like that. I was doing the same thing every day and tasks that meant nothing to me. It really got to me.”

Before we continue, let’s back up to Foti’s first tattoo. He got it done by Dana Brunson in Cincinnati when he was 18. It’s a lotus flower that is now buried on his arm by one layer of tattoos after another. It took that one for him to want more.

“Once I got the tattoo, I was hooked,” He said. “I was attracted to the mystery of it back then. You went in and you did not ask questions or contemplate the health risks of it. You just walk out with a cool tattoo.”

Working at Karma, he would put back money to take the drive to visit Brunson. If you ask him now how many tattoos he has, he will just point to his arms and legs and say four. The truth is that he has so many he does not remember them as much as he remembers each individual experience.

It got him talking to Brunson and expressing interest in becoming an inker. He picked Brunson’s brain about how he could make it work and how to get a hold of supplies. According to Foti, Brunson took him in and agreed to help under the condition that he does not move to Cincinnati and take people away from his business, half jokingly. Brunson understood the potential in Foti, and knew he would succeed in becoming a great tattoo artist.

Foti sold his Gibson Les Paul and ordered some equipment. He set up a makeshift shop out of his den and began tattooing himself, his friends and whoever else that was interested.

“I had no clue how to do anything. I did a couple myself. I had a friend let me do random shit. It was all trial and error. I know it sounds like a horrible thing to say for something that is permanent, but for 20 bucks and a box of gloves, you have a certain expectation when you walk in.”

There was that initial uncertainty to tattooing but Foti realized from the beginning that you eventually build up confidence and reach your comfort level, so he kept trying, learning not just from his influences but being aware of his own technique as it developed. Now inking is more mechanical and natural where he can focus more on what he is doing and the technique involved.

“You should understand your limitations, but you can’t push yourself and progress unless you take risks,” he said. “Skin does every fucked up thing. It breathes, it moves, it jumps. A mother was here today with her family and a kid bumped the chair. I’ve had every type of person and every situation come before me.”

Doing it himself, he entered the business cold without any guidance to help him along. He ended up getting an apprentice role at Skin Quake, working as their “shop slave.” While the artists spent the day inking, he made the appointments, kept the administrative chores in check, and observed and talked about the art.

Then the Metamorphosis opportunity came along and he took it, never looking back. Now, he tattoos three days a week, averaging three larger pieces in two-to-three hour sessions.

For Foti, it’s the experience that really taps into his soul and enjoying the satisfaction that people get when they see the finished product. Since the MTV generation exposed everyone to the popularity of the tattoo, and modern day programs like L.A. Ink talk about the deep meaning behind it all, Foti is nostalgic for the days that more people would come in to get a tattoo simply for the tattoo.

“Can’t you get something because it simply looks cool? It doesn’t have to have a deep meaning or a reminder of your life. Tattooing is supposed to be cool. Enjoy the experience for yourself.”

Foti deserves the reputation that he has earned. With no misspellings credited to his name and the variety of tattoos he has accomplished, he is very considerate and aware of the permanence of what is going on people’s skin.

“I try to help the customer and tell them what will look good 20 years from now. I think about the future of that tattoo and do as much as I can to make it a lasting piece.”

And every day is a new experience for him. With new ideas and new potential, he is always learning in his environment.

“Even 13 years of doing this, I’m nowhere near my potential.”